When I was pregnant with my first baby I was sure a lot of my friends would be close behind me, and the ones that already had kids wouldn't be too far ahead of me.
I was sure I wouldn't feel alone in parenting, because we'd all be going through similar things.
But with kids, especially really little ones, sometimes even six months can seem like a huge age difference and leave you feeling a little isolated.
That's why mums' groups, as unsure as I'd been about joining one to begin with, are such a great idea.
In the Goulburn Valley, first-time mums or mums who've left quite a gap between having their children are offered a place in a mums' group and are booked into it while they're still in hospital, in most cases.
I was a little unenthusiastic about attending, but thought I should _ if only for the first six weeks to learn more about infant health, play and development.
At the conclusion of the official council-run meetings of new parents groups, most groups, I think, carry on in a less formal fashion.
I liked the idea of gaining a bit more information and guidance, but wasn't certain I'd continue attending if our group decided to keep meeting.
Almost two-and-a-half years later, I'm glad I did.
There are six mums in our group, with six babies between us initially.
Now we have 10 children between us with another due in April.
We've met at each other's houses, at KidsTown, at Giggle Kids, at McDonald's.
We've shared birthday parties, Christmas parties and even watched a movie together in one of the cinema's baby sessions when our first babies were about three months old.
But more importantly, we've shared ideas and advice, we've asked each other for help, and listened to each other's concerns.
And more often than not, if one of our kids was going through something one of us thought might have been abnormal, we discovered most _ if not all _ of the others were or had also gone through it.
We were lucky to be placed in a group where all the mums are roughly the same age and are at similar places in their lives.
Although we don't catch up weekly or even fortnightly these days, we usually manage at least one catch-up a month.
Our kids might one day go to kinder together, or maybe school.
They could some day work together, but there probably won't be any marriages between them because so far there's only one girl out of 10 kids!
Even if our children don't click later on, us mums will hopefully stay in touch _ after all, the title ``mums' group'' seems to have stuck much better than ``playgroup''.
A friend of mine has four teenage children and still regularly meets with her mums' group friends for girls' weekends away without any of their children in tow.
So while we take our kids to play with others their own age in the hope they will forge lifelong friendships, we are forging friendships of our own.
Which could be a lifesaver for any new mum feeling alone, because when you don't get out much it's hard to make new friends.
I am definitely a mums' group convert, and I recommend every new mum (or dad) gives the sessions a go.
_ Bree Almond
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